Secretion of heterologous polypeptides into the periplasmic space of E. coli and other prokaryotes or into their culture media is subject to a variety of parameters. Typically, vectors for secretion of a polypeptide of interest are engineered to position DNA encoding a secretory signal sequence 5′ to the DNA encoding the polypeptide of interest.
Recent years have seen increasing promises of using heterologous polypeptide, for example, antibodies, as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for various disorders and diseases. Many research and clinical applications require large quantities of functional polypeptide, thus calling for scaled-up, yet economic systems for polypeptide production. Particularly useful is the recombinant production of antibodies using a variety of expression hosts, ranging from prokaryotes such as E. coli or B. subtilis, to yeast, plants, insect cells and mammalian cells. Kipriyanov and Little (1999) Mol. Biotech. 12:173-201.
Compared to other polypeptide production systems, bacteria, particularly E. coli, provides many unique advantages. The raw materials used (i.e. bacterial cells) are inexpensive and easy to grow, therefore reducing the cost of products. Prokaryotic hosts grow much faster than, e.g., mammalian cells, allowing quicker analysis of genetic manipulations. Shorter generation time and ease of scaling up also make bacterial fermentation a more attractive means for large quantity protein production. The genomic structure and biological activity of many bacterial species including E. coli have been well-studied and a wide range of suitable vectors are available, making expression of a desirable antibody more convenient. Compared with eukaryotes, fewer steps are involved in the production process, including the manipulation of recombinant genes, stable transformation of multiple copies into the host, expression induction and characterization of the products. Pluckthun and Pack (1997) Immunotech 3:83-105.
Various approaches have been used to make recombinant polypeptides in bacteria. Recombinant proteins can be obtained from bacteria either through refolding of inclusion bodies expressed in the cytoplasm, or through expression followed by secretion to the bacterial periplasm. The choice between secretion and refolding is generally guided by several considerations. Secretion is usually the faster and more commonly used strategy for producing antibodies. Kipriyanov and Little (1999), supra.
Antibody expression in prokaryotic systems can be carried out in different scales. The shake-flask cultures (in the 2-5 liter-range) typically generate less than 5 mg/liter products. Carter et al. (1992) Bio/Technology 10:12-16 developed a high cell-density fermentation system in which high-level expression (up to 2 g/liter) of antibody fragments was obtained. The gram per liter titers of Fab′ obtained by Carter et al. is due largely to higher cell densities resulting from the more precisely controlled environment of a fermentor than that of a simple shake flask. The system contains a dicistronic operon designed to co-express the light chain and heavy chain fragments. The dicistronic operon is under the control of a single E. coli phoA promoter which is inducible by phosphate starvation. Each antibody chain is preceded by the E. coli heat-stable enterotoxin II (stII) signal sequence to direct secretion to the periplasmic space.
For general reviews of antibody production in E. coli, see Pluckthun and Pack (1997) Immunotech 3:83-105; Pluckthun et al. (1996) in ANTIBODY ENGINEERING: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, pp 203-252 (Oxford Press); Pluckthun (1994) in HANDBOOK OF EXP PHARMCOL VOL 3: THE PHARMCOL OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES, pp 269-315 (ed. M. Rosenberg and G.P. Moore; Springer-Verlag, Berlin).
Many biological assays (such as X-ray crystallography) and clinical applications (such as protein therapy) require large amounts of protein. Accordingly, a need exists for high yield yet simple systems for producing properly assembled, soluble and functional heterologous polypeptides, such as antibodies.
All references cited herein, including patent applications and publications, are incorporated by reference in their entirety.